Jerry West
(1938-2024)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1980
Card Shown:
2014-15 Panini Flawless
Association Autographs
Position: PG/SG
Height: 6’4″
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Jerry West, “Mr. Clutch,” was one of the best pure shooters that the NBA has ever known. When the game was on the line there was no one better than West to take the last shot. Jerry was also a top defensive player. He was a fierce competitor whose will to win was unmatched.
West led the Lakers to the NBA Finals nine times in his fourteen year career. Unfortunately, he played at the same time as the Boston Celtics dynasty. Jerry and his Lakers met the Celtics six times in the NBA Finals but were never able to defeat them.
Particularly heartbreaking was the Lakers loss to the Celtics in the 1962 Finals, which they led three games to two after a 61-point performance by Elgin Baylor in Game 5. In Game 7 they had a chance to win the game in regulation but a last second shot by Frank Selvy missed. The Lakers lost in overtime 110 to 107.
Awards and Honors
- In 1959 West led the West Virginia Mountaineers to the NCAA Finals and was awarded the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award.
- Jerry was a 14-time NBA All-Star and was also selected ten times to the All-NBA First Team.
- He was also chosen for the NBA All-Defensive Team four times.
- West was the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 1969 even though his Lakers lost to the Celtics in seven games. Jerry averaged 37.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game in that series.
- He was also the 1972 NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player.
- Jerry helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Championship in 1972 as the Lakers beat the New York Knicks in five games.
- Jerry West and Oscar Robertson highlighted the 1960 USA Olympic team which won the gold medal in Rome and which was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a team in 2010.
Points of Interest
- Jerry was the third player in NBA history to score 25,000 career points (after Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson).
- West led the Lakers to the NBA Finals nine times in his illustrious career, but only came away with one NBA championship. The Lakers were defeated six times in the Finals by their arch rival, the Boston Celtics.
- Jerry never won the NBA MVP award but he finished in second place four times: 1965-66 (to Wilt Chamberlain), 1969-70 (to Willis Reed), 1970-71 (to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), and 1971-72 (to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).
- West, Wilt Chamberlain, and Gail Goodrich led the Lakers to a 69-13 record in 1971-72, which included a record 33-game winning streak under new coach and former Celtic Bill Sharman. They went on to win the title that year.
- When he retired West was third in NBA history in career points scored (25,192), fourth in points per game (27.0), second in free throws made (7,160), and fifth in assists (6,238).
- Jerry was named to the NBA 35th Anniversary Team in 1980 and later honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996.
Statistics
Jerry West Statistics
provided by Basketball-Reference.com